Paul Rudd stars as the “idiot” in “Our Idiot Brother,” a genial comedy that is too pokey for its own good. Rudd’s Ned Rochlin, recently jailed for selling pot to a uniformed police officer, is released into the world without a job, a home, or even his beloved dog, Willie Nelson. (His former girlfriend, with whom he lived hippie-style on a biodynamic farm, claims custody.)

The cast members, beginning with Rudd, have an improvisatory ease, and the director, Jesse Peretz, working from a script by Evgenia Peretz and David Schisgall, doesn't indulge in the sort of nail-on-the-head comedy that currently reigns. Still, “Our Idiot Brother” too often ambles into inconsequentiality. And, predictably, Ned becomes a kind of family savior – the idiot becomes the sage. It’s Frank Capra for dummies. Grade: B (Rated R for sexual content including nudity, and for language throughout.)